Sparks In The Night
by Dragon'sHost
Summary: Mard Geer returns home to find an odd visitor. On his roof.
1. Chapter 1

**Yet another prompt request from** _ **momusponosandmoros**_ **!**

 **Prompt: 'I found you on the roof of my house passed out with a black eye holding a fire extinguisher' AU.**

 **Decided to make it "generic holiday with fireworks" instead of any specific one. Because there's actually a good number of them.**

 **Gotta thank** _ **nerdfightersunshine**_ **for helping me out with this one!**

 **FOLKS I ENDED UP REDOING THIS CHAPTER. It's more or less the same, I just changed a couple of things. I did this because I remembered some things from my ROTC days, and in anticipation of making this multi-chaptered.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Mard Geer rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. Sky alighting with brilliant colour again, Mard then gripped his steering wheel and braced for impact. He was not disappointed, for a second later the booms of exploding pyrotechnics buffeted his car, and set off other cars' alarms down the street.

Normally, he was all for people celebrating holidays. He didn't bother to for the most part, but he wasn't going to begrudge other people their fun. …Actually, no. He did. But there wasn't anything he could do about it.

Especially with the obnoxious creation that was fireworks. Mard hated them with a passion he rarely bestowed upon anything else. He couldn't understand why Jackal adored them so much. Fireworks were technically not illegal. However, the whole point of holidays was to celebrate the day of. Why the hell were people being so gung-ho about this when the specified day wasn't even until _tomorrow_?!

Meaning he was going to have to suffer through _at least_ one more night of this.

Also, it wasn't even completely dark out yet. Why the fuck were they setting them off so fucking early?

 _Joy._

Spotting his driveway, he pulled up and parked his car. Reverberating sound from the fireworks was visibly rattling his windows. Resigning himself to a couple of sleepless nights – thankfully he was off of work for the holiday – Mard turned off his vehicle. Maybe he could take something to make him pass out? He considered the option, rubbing his forehead to ease his headache. Climbing out of his car, he slammed the door (with more force than strictly necessary) and locked it.

"Sir! Excuse me!"

Mard paused, certain that he'd heard a voice. It was hard to tell over the sound of the pyrotechnics going off, though. He shrugged. It was probably just one of his neighbors celebrating.

"Excuse me, sir!" it came again, a little more clearly.

Glancing around, Mard tried to discern where the voice had come from, but he saw no one.

"Up here!"

Dread settled in his stomach, as the only 'up' was the roof of his house. _'Oh, no. NO. Just… no. This had better not be Jackal's idea of a joke.'_ Despite his internal protests, he tilted his head to peer up at the person calling to him in the twilight.

A white-haired woman was sitting on his roof. Holding a fire extinguisher, and grinning weakly at him. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized. "I know this looks really weird, and you probably have a ton of questions… which I'll answer, I swear! But… can you help me get down from here? My… my ladder fell…"

Mard just stood there for a long moment, staring in incredulity.

"Um… hello?" the woman asked, concerned that the man wasn't moving. "Help? Sir? Please?"

Another firework burst above their heads, and the woman flinched violently.

Snapping out of his stupor, Mard cleared his throat. "Where is your ladder, ma'am?"

"That way!" she pointed, trying to cover her ears and retain her grip on the fire extinguisher at the same time.

Heading to the side of his house, Mard located the ladder and brought it around to the front so she wouldn't have to scramble around on his rooftop more than necessary. Setting it up, he waved for her to come down.

"Hold on a minute," she pled, holding out the fire extinguisher. "Can you catch this first?"

Mard wondered how she'd managed to ascend the ladder in the first place with the bulky object within her possession, but he shrugged it off. A concern that could be addressed _after_ she was off of his roof. "Certainly."

Catching it once she dropped it, Mard placed it on the ground and took up position at the bottom of the ladder. "I'll steady it for you," he explained.

Grateful, she began to climb down. Politely, Mard looked away while she descended.

Hopping off once she reached solid ground again, she wobbled. Mard threw out his arm, gripping her shoulder to steady her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," he replied, releasing her. "Now… care to explain why you were on my roof? With a fire extinguisher?" Then his eyes narrowed, noticing something that had escaped him earlier with the distance and dim light. "…You have a black eye. Why." It was not a question.

"I t-tripped with the fire extinguisher," she explained hurriedly, her face visibly flushing even with the darkening sky, "and gave it to myself!"

He didn't… quite believe that. Mard stared at her for a long moment. "And why were you upon my roof with said object in the first place?"

"I-I saw one of the fireworks land up there, and… I thought I'd put it out!"

Again, he didn't entirely buy that.

Light blossomed above their heads, multi-coloured sparks cascading towards the ground. A moment later, a wall of sound rolled into them.

Car alarms again went off down the street, but it was the terror that shone in the woman's eyes, her great flinch, and trembling form that set off alarms in Mard's mind.

"Come inside, and I'll get you some ice for that eye," he offered. "Then I'll give you some earplugs, and hot tea. After which, you can explain to me the _real_ reason you were up on the roof."

Biting her lip, she shakily nodded. "Okay, sir. I'm Strauss, by the way. …Mirajane." She raised her hand and pressed her palm to her forehead, frowning. "Mirajane Strauss," she introduced herself, dropping her hand and following Mard up the short stairs to his front door.

"Mard Geer."

* * *

They spent the long, long night in the kitchen, talking. But not aloud, through writing upon a pad of paper and passing it back and forth. The earplugs and chamomile tea had worked wonders on Mirajane's nerves. She did not end up leaving Mard's house until the sun had already begun to rise.

"Mirajane," Mard stopped her before she could leave. "Are you certain you don't want me to drive you back?"

She shook her head. "I recognize this street – I'm not too far from home, actually. It would be a waste to drive me. And besides…" Sheepish, Mirajane's eyes flicked away. "I don't… I'm not… I'm not good with cars, anymore. They're too… confined."

Mard nodded, understanding. Holding out a slip of paper, he gestured for her to take it. "Here; this is my number. Call anytime you need anything." He looked her straight in the eye. "And I do mean _anything_."

She took the offered not with a small smile. "Is it… Is it alright if I come back sometime, sir?"

Raising an eyebrow, Mard nodded.

"Like… tonight, maybe?"

"Of course you may," he replied smoothly.

Stepping forward, in a move he completely did not expect, she wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you, again. For everything. I really, really appreciate it."

He gave her an awkward pat on the back. "You are welcome."

Once she released him, she stood back. Schooling her features into a serene mask, she then gave him a brief salute that he returned.

Mard watched as she cut the salute and pivoted smartly. Her footsteps were rhythmic as she walked away, a specific cadence that Mard had heard before. A stiffness to her spine was clear, as she held herself upright, with her chin lifted.

Oh yes, he was familiar with all of this.

He hadn't _always_ been an English professor, after all.

* * *

 **Friendly reminder that fireworks can set off PTSD.**

 **Respect, people. Respect.**

 **Making this multi-chaptered, now!**

 **Let me know what you think of this revised first chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yes, this is multi-chaptered now! I went back and added/changed a few things to the first chapter, so read that before beginning on this!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Mirajane marched down the block, keeping her gaze straight ahead and certain that Mard was still watching her. She only relaxed when she was out of sight of the man's home, though her heart still pounded in her ribcage.

' _Why did I do that?'_ she wondered, her palms starting to perspire. _'Why did I hug him? That was so completely unprofessional –'_ Violently, Mirajane shook her head. _'No, Strauss! I mean… Mirajane! Stop thinking like that! You aren't a soldier anymore! You're a civilian, now! It's perfectly okay to hug a friend!'_

Rubbing her temples, Mirajane sighed. What was wrong with her? She felt like she was utterly losing it. How was she going to explain this to her siblings, when she arrived home? There was no way to avoid their questions, and she couldn't possibly tell them the truth as to what she'd been up to the night previous.

Mostly because she had no idea herself. Aside from the fact that she'd ended up on a stranger's roof with a fire extinguisher firmly in her possession, Mirajane's night was more or less a black hole in her memories. She thought she might recall wishing her brother and sister well as they left to attend separate parties… but after that, nothing.

Until she suddenly came to on Mard's roof.

And what good luck it had been him, too! She didn't know what she would have done, had it been someone less… understanding. When she had confessed to him, over their tea, he'd simply nodded and accepted that explanation. Little more had been said on the topic – at that point he had handed over some earplugs for her to us, still in their package. Then he'd brought out pen and paper for communication – her with the earplugs, him with the fireworks constantly going off.

Now she realized that the earplugs must have originally been for his own use. And he had done without them the entire night while they talked. After finding her on his roof.

Then he had accepted her request to return tonight!

Mortification set in.

Maybe she shouldn't go. She still had the earplugs, after all. She could just put them in, and try to sleep through the night.

Mirajane shook her head. That was ridiculous. Mard struck her as the type to tell it how he saw it, regardless of what others around him thought. Probably why he had chosen a career outside of the military, now that she thought about it. They hadn't gone into depth over his military service, and he in turn had not pried into hers. Though it was clear to her from the way he held himself, and in the cadence of his speech and small movements that no matter how far removed you were from that life, it never completely left you.

Well… regardless of all that, she'd left the fire extinguisher behind.

Before long, her home came into view. It was a rather small house, with the paint chipping and one shutter perpetually hanging askew, but she loved it. Mirajane had painstakingly set aside her pay along with Elfman and Lisanna's earnings from their part-time jobs in order to afford a real house for them all to live in. It was home.

Mirajane reached for her keys, only to realize that she didn't have them. Checking her pockets, she didn't see her wallet, cellphone, or ID either. Trying the door anyway, she found it unlocked, and slipped inside. Once the door was gently shut behind her, she made certain to lock it. Then she crept over to the kitchen. She almost immediately spotted her keys on the counter.

Shaking her head at herself, she glanced underneath the kitchen sink, looking for the trash bin. Garbage pickup would be delayed a day due to the holiday, but she should still make sure it was out, she reasoned.

Then she frowned, staring at the other object she discovered down there. One that wasn't supposed to be there at all.

The fire extinguisher.

"That's odd," she muttered to herself.

"What's odd?" a voice asked behind her.

Squeaking, Mirajane jumped a little. Breathing heavily, she gripped the countertop as if it were the only thing keeping her upright. It was. "Lisanna! Don't sneak up on me!"

Confused, her younger sister stared at her with sky blue eyes the same as Mirajane's. "But I didn't. I was right here the whole time…"

"Lisanna."

The tone in Mirajane's voice brooked no argument, so Lisanna dropped it with an annoyed frown. "So, where were you all night, sis?"

Mirajane flinched again.

"Something wrong, Mira?" Lisanna asked, concerned now.

Her older sister offered her a smile full of serenity she did not feel. "I'm fine," she lied.

"No, you're not," Elfman rumbled, stepping into the kitchen as well. "What's going on?"

"I am perfectly okay," Mirajane insisted, opening the refrigerator door and peering within. "So what time did you two get home last night?"

"Don't try to change the subject!"

"What time, Lisanna?"

The younger girl grumbled a bit. "Two. But Elfman didn't show up until three!"

"Hey! Way to rat me out! So unmanly…"

Lisanna waved him off. "Now, about you, Mira!"

She shook her head. "I'm just a bit tired, you two. I didn't get any sleep last night."

"Ooooh," Lisanna cooed.

"Too much information, sis!" Elfman protested, flailing. "That's not manly!"

"I am not a man, silly!"

"But was there one involved?" pressed Lisanna.

"I met a friend last night, and we just talked." Mirajane pulled out some juice. "That's all."

Lisanna shook her head. "All night? I don't believe you!"

"I do!" Elfman hurriedly interjected, in a desperate bid to get the subject dropped.

"Really!" Mirajane insisted.

Not convinced in the slightest, Lisanna gave her sister a flat look. "Uh, huh." A moment later, her attention drifted to the countertop. "Oh? What's this paper?"

Mirajane nearly dropped the glass she was pulling from the cupboard. "Wait, Lisanna! That's – !"

"Mard Geer!" Lisanna crowed in triumph. "Is that the name of your new beau?"

Elfman clamped his gargantuan hands over his ears. "I can't hear anything! LALALALALALALA!"

"Lisanna, he's just a friend! And I only met him last night!"

"LALALALALALALALA!"

"For goodness' sake, Elfman, calm down!"

"Suuuuure… he's just a frieeeeeeend!" Lisanna laughed.

"Lisanna!" cried Mirajane. "Give that back!"

"No way!" her little sister responded, darting out of the kitchen and into the living area. "Oh, and he even left his number! Naughty, naughty, Mira!"

Mirajane abandoned her juice and glass on the kitchen counter in favor of pursuing her sister. "Get back here!"

"Nooooooo!" Standing on the couch, Lisanna held the scrap of paper high and read aloud, "It says, 'Ms. Mirajane,' oh my goodness that's so cute!" Letting out a squeal she continued, "And then it says…" She froze, suddenly, her face falling.

Mirajane easily snatched the note from her sister.

Seeing the ashen look on her younger sibling's face, Mirajane glanced at the note, reading it for the first time.

 _Ms. Mirajane,_

 _I very much enjoyed our discussion last night.  
If you want, I have a friend that may be able to assist with your problem with blackouts.  
I've listed his contact information below.  
Feel free to call either of us if you need anything._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Mard Geer._

Then, a short ways down was written:

 _Zeref Dragneel.  
Phone Number: XXX-XXX-XXXX  
His office hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. But this is his cellphone. Tell him I referred you._

 _Mard_

"Mira?" Lisanna asked hesitantly, climbing down the couch. "What is he talking about? Blackouts?"

Elfman entered the room as well. "Have you been having them again, sis?"

Mirajane bit her lip. She'd never _stopped_ having them, was the real issue. But she'd never ended up in the sort of predicament she had last night, before.

"Was it the fireworks?" Lisanna's quiet question snapped Mirajane out of her stupor.

"…Yeah," she replied, feeling weaker than when she'd earned that Purple Heart sitting on the mantle.

Tears welled up in Lisanna's cerulean eyes. "I'm sorry I teased you, Mira." She reached out towards her sister, then remembered at the last second the new personal space rules Mirajane had established. "Respect the perimeter," she murmured. "Sorry, Mira."

Holding out her arms, Mirajane beckoned her sister forward. "It's okay, sweetie."

Needing no second prompting, Lisanna launched herself into her beloved older sister's embrace. "I'm sorry, Mira!" she repeated, over and over again, bawling.

Elfman soon joined them, tears and snot running down his face as he enfolded them with his large arms.

Mirajane stroked Lisanna's short hair. "Shush. It's alright. I promise."

* * *

" **Respect the perimeter" is borrowed from a favorite show of mine: Haven.**

 **Purple Hearts are awarded by the U.S. military for soldiers wounded in combat. This is why Mirajane is no longer in the service.**

 **Let me know what you guys think.**


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